A natural wood surface with an ornamentally shaped edge is generally considered a highly desirable characteristic of quality furniture. These features are commonly used for, but not necessarily limited to, desk tops. Given the relatively high cost of quality solid hardwood, the market for solid wood furniture is limited to a relatively narrow segment of the overall market. It is therefore in the economic interest of furniture manufacturers to employ the use of a thin wood veneer, glued to the surface of a less expensive substrate. The substrate usually consists of a wood fiber composite in a glue matrix that is considerably less expensive than solid wood. The appearance and perceived quality of such a tabletop falls largely into the same realm as the solid wood top, with a much-reduced manufacturing cost.
The method of manufacturing such a composite based furniture top generally consists of attaching a band of solid wood to the edge of the wood composite material. The banded panel is then processed in a wide-belt sander, so as to ensure that the top surface of the band is exactly level with the surface of the composite material. A thin sheet of veneer is then glued to the surface of the banded panel, covering both the composite material and the edge band. The veneer is applied to the surface of the banded panel by means of a veneer press. Such a press utilizes a heated platen under relatively high pressure to press the veneer onto the surface with heat-activated glue.
There is a major economic disadvantage to the above-described process, in that it requires the use of expensive machinery that is dedicated to one singular process. Such expensive, limited use equipment does not fall within the sphere of economic feasibility for most small to moderate sized furniture manufacturers.